


Life Questions

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26262103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex helps Jack talk through a tough subject.
Kudos: 2





	Life Questions

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea I got based on my personal life. It is a bit heavy, so please don't read if you'd get triggered!

“Hey, why wasn’t Jack here today?” Rian asked as he walked to the student parking lot with Alex and Jack.  
“Well, I texted him earlier, and he said he woke up feeling sick,” Alex replied.  
“Do you actually believe that? I mean, it’s Jack, we all know he’ll do just about anything to get out of going to school,” Zack pointed out, making all three of them laugh.  
“I don’t know, I feel like he hasn’t pulled this in a while, but I certainly wouldn’t put it past him. I think I’m going to go over to his house to check on him,” Alex decided.  
“Well, tell us how it goes,” Zack said, getting into his car.  
“Will do, see you guys tomorrow afternoon for practice,”   
Alex got into his car, and put on one of his favorite CDs. The drive to Jack’s was very short, but Alex knew that music could really make or break a car trip. He felt a bit nervous as he drove, Alex figured that Jack could very well be sick like he said, but it also could’ve just been an excuse to hide something bigger.   
Alex eventually pulled into Jack’s driveway, and noticed that the only car there was Jack’s, which was odd. Even though they were sixteen now, Jack’s mom almost always stayed home with Jack when he wasn’t feeling well, so her not being there didn’t seem right to Alex. After taking a deep breath, Alex went to the always unlocked front door, and let himself in, before making his way over to Jack’s room.   
The door was shut, and Alex could faintly hear the TV playing behind it. Though he was still nervous, Alex knocked on the door.  
“Come in,” Jack’s muffled voice said, and Alex noticed that he didn’t sound sick at all. Alex slowly opened the door, and saw Jack laying in his bed, on top of his blanket, watching a movie with a blank expression on his face.  
“Hey man, what’s up?” Alex walked over to Jack’s desk and took a seat as Jack muted the TV so he could talk to his friend.  
“Hey Alex, I’m surprised to see you here,” Jack’s voice was very monotone and bored, and Alex was beginning to wonder if he was wrong for coming over.  
“I just came by to check on you, how’re you doing? Are you still feeling sick?” Alex asked, as Jack’s eyes quickly looked elsewhere in the room.  
“Um, no, I think I’m over it now,” Jack’s voice was awkward, and Alex could tell that something definitely wasn’t right.  
“You didn’t actually stay home because you felt sick, did you? That was just a cover up, which isn’t surprising, since you’ve really beat that excuse to death,” Alex said with a laugh.  
“What can I say? I guess you caught me,” Jack sounded very unenthused, and Alex noticed a look in his friend’s eyes, but he couldn’t quite figure out what it was.  
“Hey, are you okay, man?” Alex did his best to seem serious and concerned, so that Jack would actually tell him the truth.  
“I’m okay enough, I guess,” Jack looked down as he started to play with the hem of his shirt.  
“Why did you really stay home today, man? You’re starting to concern me, and you’re my best friend, so I want to help you if I can,”   
Jack looked up at Alex and saw how worried he looked, and he knew that he couldn’t let Alex feel so worked up over this, it wouldn’t be fair to him.  
“I stayed home because I just needed the day to myself. I needed a bit of a break to get my mind together,” Jack started, sounding nervous.  
“To get your mind together? Is something wrong?” Alex continued.  
“This is kind of hard to explain, which is why I haven’t talked about it with you or anyone, so I’ll do my best. I just kind of feel like life is pointless, I-“  
“Jack, if you’re feeling suicidal, we can find some resources to help you, and I’ll be with you through it,”   
“No, I don’t feel like that, which is why this is so hard for me to explain. When I say I feel like life is pointless, I don’t mean that I want to end my life, I’m literally questioning the point of life as a whole. Like, we exist, then we don’t, so why do we put so much stress on ourselves in so many ways if that’s the reality?” Jack asked, finally not sounding as monotone.  
“That’s a good point, man, and I’ve thought about that, too,” Alex replied, trying to level with his friend.  
“Maybe you have, but probably not as deeply as me. I’m not trying to freak you out or make you anxious, but literally everything is temporary. With that being the case, it doesn’t really matter if a bunch of bad shit happens to you, because it’s not forever. Like, it would suck, but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things? If nothing is permanent, then why does shit even matter at all?”   
Alex looked at Jack and recognized both curiosity and distress on his face. Feeling more concerned, Alex got up and took a seat next to Jack on his bed, wanting to physically show that he was there for him.  
“Those are all really good points, dude. You’ve definitely given this idea a lot o thought. Thinking about these things is totally normal, it’s part of human existence, but letting it freak you out and bother you so much is where it gets bad, and a bit unhealthy. It’s okay to have questions, but being at the point where you don’t want to do anything, like go to school, because it ‘doesn’t matter’ is crossing a line that, as your best friend, I don’t want you to cross,” Alex explained, hoping he was getting through to Jack.  
“Alex, calm down, dude, it’s not like I’m going to off myself or anything, I just-“   
“You’re saying that now, but what if you get deeper into this, and start to legitimately consider it? I know you’re telling me that you’re not in that dark of a place, and that is a bit relieving, but this type of thinking can push you into that direction,”   
Alex never thought he’d be having this conversation with Jack, mostly because he never expected Jack to think so deeply about something that didn’t involve music or girls, so this was a big shock for him.  
“Well, I’m not there now, and even if that did start to happen, who cares? Like I said, this shit is temporary, my stupid thoughts don’t really matter in the bigger picture,” Jack continued.  
“That’s not true, I know you know that,” Alex tried.  
“Dude, yes, it is. Give me one good reason that me thinking like that would matter for anyone else aside from myself,”  
“Well, without you, we wouldn’t have the band. I know that we’re kind of small right now, but we’ll make it one day, and we’ll influence a whole new generation of musicians, which I know is something that has always meant a lot to you. Also, you’re my best friend, and I’m sure Rian and Zack would say the same. If you just disappeared, we’d be torn up about it for the rest of our lives. We’d keep you ‘alive’ by talking about you to anybody and everybody that would listen. I know you’ve convinced yourself that none of this matters, or that you don’t, but I promise you that you couldn’t be more wrong on that,”   
Jack looked to Alex, and saw a genuine look on his face, and then felt a few tears sting at his eyes.  
“I really needed to hear that, thank you, Alex. I don have a question; I know that life is what I make it, but how do I do anything with this concept running through my mind? Like, how can I enjoy anything I find any amount of joy in, if it doesn’t really matter? I don’t like thinking like this, but ever since I started, I just can’t get it to shut off,” Jack explained.  
“That’s a good question that probably has a lot of answers that are better than anything I could come up with, but I’ll do my best. This life might be totally temporary, but you should enjoy it while you’ve got it. I know it can be hard to do that, especially with all of this playing in your mind, but I think that when you start to think like that, you just have to shut it out. I know you love music and traveling and hanging out with Zack, Rian, and myself. All of those things may be physically temporary, but your mark is forever, and I can promise you that our friendship is, too. You may feel insignificant, but I can guarantee that you’re not You’re here for a reason, and you should use this life to figure out that person, instead of thinking about all of this. I’m glad you told me about this because this type of shit is hard to deal with, since it’s so heavy, and I’m glad you know that I’m here for you. I promise you’re going to do so many great things that will distract you from this. Just take it day by day, and do your best at what you do, that’s all that matters,” Alex explained, as he gave Jack a hug. He could hear his friend crying some, so he hugged him tighter.  
“Thank you for this, Alex, it means a lot. I’s going to be hard to get myself out of thinking like this, since I’m in pretty deep, but just knowing that you’re here for me will make it that much easier,” Jack replied, wiping away the last few tears in his eyes.  
“You’re so welcome, dude, I’m glad to help. This likely won’t be fixed overnight, but I’m here for you every step of the way. Now, why don’t we go do something fun?”   
“Like what?”  
“Why don’t I treat you to some ice cream?” Alex suggested, making them both smile.  
“That would be awesome, thanks, Alex,” Jack happily replied.  
“Let’s get going, then!” Alex exclaimed, leading the two of them out of the house, and out to his car.   
They both knew that Jack wouldn’t be totally okay for now, but just having the conversation made them feel better.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this was an idea I got from how I felt during the majority of quarantine. Usually, when I write about my personal life, the subject is a thing of my past, and not something I'm currently dealing with, and this isn't really an example of that. It's definitely less intense now, but this is still something that comes up in my mind semi often, so I wanted to write about it to deal with it. I shared this, because I'm hoping it can help someone feeling the same way, which is why any personal fic of mine goes up at all. Thank you guys for giving me a safe space to post personal things like this, it really does mean the world. I'm hoping that my fics will start to be happier soon, but I have a few more sad/angsty ideas for now. Please send in requests if you have them, I love writing your all's ideas!! Thanks for reading, and another fic will be up soon! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
